Monday, September 13, 2010

The Trastevere Blog in Spain seems to be the outlet for some Spanish speaking Legionaries who want to tell the world what is going on inside the Legion. This blogger simply passes on a translation of some August postings he found. These posts are the only information we have of what is going on inside the Legion -besides the official bulletins from the LC High Command. It seems not all Legionaries blindly believe what comes down to them from on high.

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Our correspondent in Ireland, translated some interesting posts by two current LCs on the Trastevere blog over the past month. All the posts are in chronological order as they were posted and are by the LC priest who identifies himself as Misterioso, except one post by un sacerdote legionario ("a legionary priest").. The original Spanish follows the translation, which is by no means perfect. Also included is an attachment of the translations as a txt file.

"... We would have liked to have seen some news about the Apostolic visitors in the Information Bulletins that we get by email in the Legion of Christ. I would have really liked to have seen the interview that the visitor gave to the the Apostolate Community in Leon, Guanajuato [Mexico] where he opened the Legionaries eyes, urging them to learn and inform themselves about all the was happening in the Legion because in a short time reform would come. Well, I was told that only a few days afterwards the Territorial Director of this region visited them to literally "repair the damage of the apostolic visit." I think that he himself received the damage as he left beleaguered and some more by his visit to the community. My respect and my acknowledgment of their bravery to those priests and brothers in that community. I am to understand that only three months later they changed the Territorial Director [for another]. Draw your own conclusions."

"I would like to share something that has just happened only a few minutes ago so that this respectable public give me its opinion: Yesterday an LC priest who works in the recruitment drive for minors ... that is to say he recruits boys for the Apostolic school [Legionary minor seminary], a friend of mine, spoke to me

somewhat surprised and annoyed, and he gave me some frightening news: The yearly planning [literally programming] meetings usually take place in Cotija, birthplace of the Founder [Marcial Maciel]... Last year there were many complaints from many of the vocational recruiters saying that they didnt feel comfortable

[being in Cotija] ... for obvious reasons. Much less when they made visits to Maciel's museum and tomb... It was announced, to the peace of mind of all, that as of next year the meetings would take place in the retreat houses in Chapala, Guadalajara. All were happy about this. Oh, Surprise! - just a few days ago they

received an email from the Territorial Directors saying that for reasons of space the meetings would be once more in the Michoacán region [implies the town of

Cotija, which is in the state of Michoacán]. What do you think about this? I smell a rat, as they say. On the other hand, it sounds logical to me: these vocational

promoters or recruiters practically live in the streets because their work brings them in contact with the world, families - contacts, as they call them. Some

promoters have left the Legion after all that has happened, others have refused to recruit vocations, and many, many have become aware of the truth before the Leadership Cadre [cúpula] announced Maciel's abuses. Will it be that they will have reprogramming, reformatting and brain washing sessions? It will be interesting to

know the content of these meetings. Patience friends, all in its own time. Greetings and my prayers for you.!"

"...The approval of the constitutions and many official things in the Legion are sincerely a mystery, a mystery of manipulation and dirty-work between Maciel, the cúpula [Leadership cadre] of the legion] and the Holy See. For example, in the Legion we were never shown a copy or indeed the original of the acts of Canonical Erection and of the Canonical Approval of the Legion, two very important documents. But when you know the scurrilous history in which these documents were elaborated you

ask yourself if the really exist, including the Canonical Erection which was expressly prohibited by the Holy See. Maciel knew this prohibition yet went forward and obliged his Bishop uncle to retract said act, hiding what he already knew: prohibition by the Holy See to erect the congregation and thus it was made. Maciel

told this [to us] mockingly, as a victory on his part over his enemies (always Jesuits) who worked in the Holy See and who, according to him, had it out for him...this man [Maciel] did everything underhand [por abajo?], wrongly, outside of what the Church has stipulated. All the approvals were through abnormal channels,

the constitutions by paying Pironio and blackmailing JPII, the Statutes by paying Sodano and taking advantage of JPII's illness, going in contrary to what various cardinals had been saying about the approval [of the statutes], among them Ratzinger who was completely opposed [to the approval]. Afterwards, Maciel saw itas a victory over everyone... these documents were never passed through the established channels in the Curia, knowing that it would be impossible to approve them because of the infinite number of anomalies against and trampling on the freedom of conscience and of the person which they contain.

On the other hand, the reality is that right now there is a strong persecution going on inside the congregation, nobody can dissent - except to the outside [Tr. unsure about the translation of: sino para afuera]. There are many of my companions who are truly suffering humiliation and incomprehension from their superiors, who are beating them down [literally sinking] psychologically... this is very delicate, that they continue to control the thoughts and the liberty of all, there is great manipulation and pressure on the inside."

"From Cerro de la Silla [Monterrey, Mexico, the mountain in the shape of a saddle overlooking the city of Monterey, Mexico], precisely where, every year, the directors of Integer and the LC General

Administration Cúpula meet. [It is implied that the author is in Monterrye]. The car park will be full of cars of the latest model(Mercedes Benz, BMW, people carriers) and the food has to be of the highest quality... In fact they choose one of their own for no other reason than to check the food. If they don't like it, they change it [I’m unsure if the mean they change the catering company or they change the undertaking], because they have a demanding palate... ... the themes in the talks and conferences will be among others: Growth, development of the LC and RC, statistics about numbers [I believe this to mean

the numbers important to the legion: number of members/new members and donations/money], new perspectives on the current difficult situation...

"...may God help us grasp all of this situation and act with decision and firmness. We cannot be satisfied with the spiel that for the good of charity we have to avoid making rash judgments about all those who surrounded Maciel: this is the recommendation from our Major Superiors. I believe that it is essential, necessary, and urgent to render evident those who knew about his misdemeanors and turned a blind eye or participated in them... Imagine how much confidence

we feel when those who were his secretaries arrive at our centers giving conferences and talks. All they do is regret the damage that Maciel did..."

"There are many closed Priests who do not want to even listen. Two months ago a woman who was a candidate to be assistant of the director of a section [of RC]

in the north [of Mexico] told me that she offered the director a copy of the Luis Garza conference [a secret recording of a conference which he gave to consecrated women of RC] and he answered: "don't give me anything that could damage my vocation more". They resist seeing, and as you say, it is very difficult to nudge

LCs like this. Change has to come from above. Nevertheless, our work [towards change?] is being done. Believe me, it is much easier to open the eyes of the younger LCs than the older ones or those who have a place of governance.

... Not only are they [dissenters?] isolated and their permission to confess is removed, but also they change their work or their apostolate... I myself have heard the

superior of my centre say in Community Directives [a periodical community activity where the rector or his delegate corrects specific faults observed within the

community from simple things like: "no one should drink directly from the garden hoses" to more controlling aspects of community life] "Fathers, I remind you

that only the ordinary [appointed] confessors can hear confessions from the members of the community, and during the course [of the year] the extraordinary confessors, when they should turn up. (It is worth mentioning that this year we haven’t had a visit from extraordinary confessors). They still make you confess with [go to confession to] the priests they want you to confess to... There is an LC priest who had to give up his holidays this year because they forbade him to tend to the novices in

dialogue [spiritual direction] because he was not a spiritual director and if you ask me where he is now, they have just changed his apostolate because he had not

stuck to this order from his Assistant for Religious Life in spite of a various warnings... He is blessed now because he is no longer under the jurisdiction of this

Assistant for [un]Religious Life, because if were of the Religious Life, he would follow canon law and I doubt he follows it..." [I understand this topic to be about

LCs requesting direction or confession from any LC priests around them and LCs being chastised for confessing or giving spiritual direction to those that request

if of them when they are nor authorized to do so, i.e. that confession and direction are still very controlled.]